Pizza Hut Abandons Marketing Stunt at Presidential Debate

In this combination of file photos, Republican presidential candidate former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, left, takes a bite of pizza during lunch with his wife Ann while campaigning at Village Pizza in Newport, N.H., Dec. 20, 2011, and then-Senator Barack Obama, right, takes a bite of pizza at American Dream Pizza in Corvallis, Ore., March 21, 2008. Pizza Hut is offering a lifetime of free pizza, one large pie a week for 30 years, or a check for $15,600 to anyone who poses the question "Sausage or pepperoni?" to either President Barack Obama or Republican candidate Mitt Romney during the live Town Hall-style debate next Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. (AP Photo)

NEW YORK – Those wondering what kind of toppings the presidential candidates prefer on their pizza will not get an answer at Tuesday's presidential debate.

Following a media backlash, Pizza Hut has retracted a marketing campaign and contest daring people to ask President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt the hard-hitting question, "Sausage or Pepperoni?"

Instead, the company has moved the promotion online, where a contestant will be randomly selected to win free pizza for life.

Pizza Hut had originally offered the prize — a pie a week for 30 years or a check for $15,600 — to anyone who posed the question to either candidate during the live Town Hall-style debate.

But blogs and media outlets immediately took the pizza chain to task for trying to capitalize on the election buzz by injecting itself into the process.

A Pizza Hut spokesman says in an email that moving the contest online was a "natural progression of the campaign" after people got excited about the idea and "wished they could get in on it." Contestants must enter their email addresses on the site to be eligible.

The change comes after Pizza Hut's stunt became the butt of jokes last week.

In a segment on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report," host Stephen Colbert asked, "What could be more American than using our electoral process for product placement?"

Colbert said the prize for a free Pizza Hut pie every week meant that "if you eat one of their pizzas every week, you will die in 30 years."

The blog Gawker wrote about the stunt under the headline, "Want Free Pizza Hut Pizza for Life? Just Make a Mockery of the American Democratic System on Live TV." The site wrote that all the contestant had to do was "embarrass themselves on live television before the President of the United States and millions of their fellow Americans."

As TV audiences become increasingly resistant to traditional commercials, marketers have been looking for new ways to engage viewers. The presidential election presents a rare opportunity, with more Americans tuning in to the debates.

Earlier this month, an estimated 67.2 million people watched the first debate between Obama and Romney. That made it the largest TV audience for a presidential debate since 1992, according to Nielsen's ratings service.